Friday, August 5, 2011

Bank of America agrees to write down California mortgage principal

Bank of America has begun writing down principal on the mortgages of some troubled borrowers in California through a state program intended to help people facing foreclosure.
The bank has signed on to the principal reduction component of the Keep Your Home California program, which uses federal funds reserved for the 2008 rescue of the financial system to help homeowners behind on their mortgages. For full details of the program, click here.
BofA is the largest of the nation's major banks to join the program, which was launched this year with $2 billion in federal funds. The California Housing Finance Agency, which runs the program, said BofA has been writing down principal on some mortgages as part of a pilot program since February and is now moving into full participation.
“California has been particularly hard hit by reductions in property values,” Rebecca Mairone, national mortgage outreach executive for BofA, said in a statement.
The bank services more than 2.2 million home loans in California, according to the housing agency. Consumer advocates criticized the lack of major mortgage servicer participation when the program was launched this year. Officials said they hope the program will encourage other major financial institutions to join.
“We’re excited to have Bank America on board for one more of the Keep Your Home California programs,” Claudia Cappio, executive director for the agency, said. “We believe principal reduction can be an appropriate tool for helping qualified homeowners obtain an affordable and sustainable modification. We continue to work with other mortgage servicers to offer this to their customers.”
The principal reduction program is aimed at helping cash-strapped Californians who are "underwater" on their mortgages -- those owing more on their properties than what those homes are worth. Those borrowers who qualify could be eligible for a total principal reduction of up to $100,000 through the program.
The program allows for up to $50,000 in aid to troubled borrowers. Banks participating in the principal reduction component are required to match that aid. Mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac are among those that are not eligible for principal reduction.
Keep Your Home California has several other programs, including one that helps people pay their mortgages as well as provides moving assistance to certain borrowers who lose their homes to foreclosure. State officials hope to fend off foreclosure for about 95,000 borrowers and provide moving assistance to about 6,500 people who do lose their homes.
Link Here

4 comments:

  1. This so interesting to me. I have spoken to BofA a multiple amount of times this week for this reason specifically. Tranfer after transfer, and still no answer. Spoke again with them today and the gentleman I spoke with told me to go to the State of Calif, website. So here I am reading specifically about what I was asking for however BofA has no recollection of any programs. So I read to him what I have found here and to his disbelief he transferred me to yet another customer service. This time the lady that I spoke with heard it in my voice that I need to get to the bottom of this. Finally to no avail, she recommended I call HUD. So in fact BofA is your loan servicer (did you know that), not your loaning institution like the good ole days. The fact that not one person that I spoke with knew anything of this alleged program, either that or the only people that get it are the squeeky wheels. And I can squeek with the best of them. So in a nut shell you have to be your own best advocate.We lost a home to the predatory banking institutions, when they were dealing bad loans everywhere (we are the poster children for this devastating time). In the process of our forclosure we were tacking on to the back of our loan (that the mortgage broker assured us she would refinance both loans if the first house didnt sell. We tacked on 30,000. to the back of the loan for the house we live in now. The other home we lost to foreclosure.It completely ruined our financial well being in every facet of our lives. The mortgage broker skipped town in the midst of our crisis. No body would help us, and through many many months of trying to refinance all the while tacking 30,000. onto our loan. After two years of this we got a refi.from Countrywide. They ironically held the loan on the house we lost to forclosure. We are on the mend but now our house is upside down $200,000. (With a recent accessment), the value keeps going down and we are paying way too much. Watch out and be persistent. Sometimes we have to be more stern then we would ever want to be. But we must. and we have to let others know they are not alone keep a hold of yourself and say "no" to the predators. It is a sad day to rant about this but I have been through too much I need to be verbal and hopefully be helpful to someone reading this right now.

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  2. B of A jumped on board in hope to preserve their already deteriorated reputation by all the lawsuits pending. I have been given the run around on my loan modification with B of A since June 2008. Each rep gave me a different story. Finally, in August 2011, I learned of the Keep Your Home CA (KYHC) and made contact with them. The counselor determined that I qualified for the principal reduction program and she sent me some paperwork to sign and return to her. I faxed them to the counselor the next day and she forwarded my packet to B of A. Two weeks later I called B of A and they stated they have nothing on file about the KYHC submitting any paperwork on my behalf. The third week I called, they told me the same thing and I persistently told the rep that he needs to dig further because the KYHC counselor told me she sent them. Finally, the rep stated my file was in review. Today, I received a call from the B of A rep and I returned the call just to be told that because my loan is FHA, it is not compatible with the KYHC program, therefore, it was denied. I've ask the rep to explain to me in more details about the denial because the only ineligibility guideline through the KYHC is that if a loan is Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac then it would not qualify. I told the B of A rep that I've met all the guidelines under the KYHC program and my loan is owned by a private investor. The rep gave me 888-954-5337 and told me it belongs to CalHFA and I told him that this number belongs to the KYHC program, the same program who determined I qualified for their principal reduction program and referred me over to B of A. The rep continued to insist the number belongs to a CA state agency and that I need to call them because I didn't qualify because my loan was FHA, thus, not compatible with the KYHC program. It told him I will call and that this is not over because they don't know what the heck they are doing. They are just a bunch of morons sitting there collecting their paychecks but knows nothing else. I'm so sick of B of A and their lies, no wonder people are suing them left and right. If you are in my situation, I would recommend contacting the B of A CEO....i think his last name is Mohiyian (google it) and file a bunch of complaint about how stupid their call centers are especially the home retention department. It should be called "Home Detention Dept" since their job is to detain homeowner's homes, not help retain them!!!!

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